Latest on Wacha, Peterson; Subway Series

NEW YORK -- A third of the way into their stretch of nine games in six days, the Mets still weren’t sure how their starting pitching would line up for the rest of it.

Injured starters Michael Wacha and David Peterson, each of whom is battling shoulder inflammation, threw bullpen sessions Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field -- the second such session for each pitcher this week. Manager Luis Rojas indicated that Wacha could start “soon,” with Peterson to follow in the near future. But he did not commit to a return date for either of his injured starters.

Regardless of how ready those two are, the fact that they threw off a mound Wednesday makes them unlikely to start for the Mets until at least Friday. That leaves a vacancy in the rotation, with Steven Matz and Robert Gsellman the most likely candidates to fill it. Rojas said the team intends to avoid using Matz and Gsellman out of the bullpen, thereby keeping them in play to start games.

“We’re still in a day-to-day approach,” Rojas said.

Assuming the Mets do not use anyone on short rest, they will need seven different starters to pitch this week. That group is likely to include all of the aforementioned arms, as well as Rick Porcello, Seth Lugo and Jacob deGrom.

Wacha had hoped to miss only one start after complaining of shoulder soreness following his Aug. 7 outing against the Marlins, but his absence has stretched nearly three full weeks. Peterson has missed two weeks due to a similar injury.

For Davis, a 'teaching moment'
A day after playing a key role in Jon Berti’s steals of third and home in Tuesday’s 3-0 Mets loss to the Marlins, third baseman J.D. Davis acknowledged that he could have done more to make Berti aware of his presence. Simple gestures such as footsteps or glove taps, Davis said, might have discouraged Berti from attempting a daring delayed steal of home.

“I’ve just got to learn from it,” Davis said.

Immediately after the game, Rojas approached Davis to tell him what he could have done differently. Although Davis is a natural third baseman, he has played the position sparingly over the past calendar year. Davis began this season as the Mets’ starting left fielder, before becoming their third baseman in early August.

“He wasn’t angry,” Davis said of Rojas. “He wasn’t sympathetic. It was just kind of a teaching moment. … He just took me off to the side. It was Luis being Luis, being a great coach.”

Five games in about 50 hours
The Yankees released start times for this weekend’s five-game series against the Mets, beginning with a doubleheader of seven-inning games at 4:05 p.m. ET Friday. The teams will then play a single game at 1:05 p.m. Saturday, followed by another seven-inning doubleheader beginning at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

The extra games are a result of last week’s Subway Series at Citi Field being postponed following two positive COVID-19 tests in the Mets’ traveling party to Miami. Although the Yankees will be considered the “home” team for record-keeping purposes during all five games in the Bronx, the Mets will bat last in Game 2 of each doubleheader.

Roster move
Prior to Wednesday’s game, the Mets optioned rookie catcher Patrick Mazeika back to their alternate training site in Brooklyn, N.Y. There was no corresponding move, because the Mets had a 29th man on their roster for Tuesday’s doubleheader. Wilson Ramos and Ali Sánchez remained on the active roster as the Mets’ two catchers.